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Nimrod ben Cush
}} History Nimrod was a son of Cush, the eldest son of Ham, who was a son of Noah, the Patriarch of the Flood. His fmaily is listed in the Genesis Table of Nations found in the Holy Bible in Gen. 10 and 1 Chr. 1. Particular emphasis is given to that he was a great hunter and a mighty man and the founder of Babylon and Ninevah. Many legends portend a great conflict of good and evil between Nimrod and Abraham, but there has been no successful attempt to link Nimrod to any recorded historical figure in Babylonian history. Biblical Mentions The Bible states that he was "a mighty hunter before the Lord and .... began to be mighty in the earth".2 Extra-biblical traditions associating him with the Tower of Babel led to his reputation as a king who was rebellious against God. Attempts to match Nimrod with historically attested figures have failed. Historians believe that Nimrod does not represent any one personage known to history, and in reality is more likely a conflation of several real and fictional figures of Mesopotamian antiquity, including the Mesopotamian god Ninurta, the Akkadian kings Sargon and his grandson Naram-Sin (2254–2218 BCE), and Tukulti-Ninurta I (1243–1207 BC) of the Middle Assyrian Empire. Genesis says that the "beginning of his kingdom" (reshit mamlakto) were the towns of "Babel, Erech, Akkad and Calneh in the land of Shinar" (Mesopotamia) (Gen 10:10)—understood variously to imply that he either founded these cities, ruled over them, or both. Owing to an ambiguity in the original Hebrew text, it is unclear whether it is he or Ashur who additionally built Nineveh, Resen, Rehoboth-Ir and Calah (both interpretations are reflected in various English versions). Sir Walter Raleigh devoted several pages in his History of the World (c. 1616) to reciting past scholarship regarding the question of whether it had been Nimrod or Ashur who built the cities in Assyria. The "Land of Nimrod" used as a synonym for Assyria or Mesopotamia, is mentioned in the Book of Micah 5:6: And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders. {Book of Micah 5:6) Genesis Narrative 6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. 7 And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. 8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, 12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city. References * Nimrod - Wikipedia * Nimrod - LDS Bible Dictionary * Book of Genesis Ch 10 * Book of I Chronicles Ch 1 Category:Upgraded from info page Category:Biblical figures Category:Genesis Table of Nations Category:Tribes of Cush